Author: Amber Vernetti

AMBER VERNETTI WRITES – Vietnamese journalist Ha Huy Hoang was arrested and convicted on the grounds of being an alleged spy for China earlier this month. Hoang, who worked for a Foreign Ministry-affiliated publication, will serve a six-year jail term. Hoang’s lawyer, Ha Huy Son, revealed that “[Hoang] was found guilty of supplying information and material about Vietnam’s economy.” Relations between Vietnam and China have been rocky due to arguments over ownership of the Paracel and Spratly Islands in the South China Sea. The Vietnamese Communist Party has political dominance, and maintains a sort of love-hate relationship with Bejing, adding to...

AMBER VERNETTI WRITES — Remember the scenario of a notorious masked bandit snatching an old lady’s purse, only to get caught/intercepted by police or a helpful stranger? While occurrences like this still exist in today’s world, crime has evolved with the times and has entered the digital age. The recent Symantec Internet Security Threat Report reveals that Singapore is “ranked the seventh highest in the Asia-Pacific region in terms of volume of such cases” and that popular cyber crimes are shifting from email to social media. This annual report contains information from more than 57.6 million sensors measuring cybercrime...

AMBER VERNETTI WRITES- The Festival of Media Asia Pacific (FOMAC), an event celebrating the accomplishments and new goals for the region’s media, took place this week from March 22-24 at the Capella Singapore, Sentosa. The festival gathered over 700 leaders of the region’s media from 22 countries and was a busy three days filled with networking opportunities, talks concerning the condition of the media climate, and celebrating the feats of the industry thus far. The festival is intended to promote goal-oriented thinking and the discussion of hot topics as mentioned by Charlie Crowe, founder of the FOMAC and Chairman of C-Squared:...

AMBER VERNETTI WRITES- At a conference in Washington D.C. last week, Australian Attorney General George Brandis announced an $18 million program that will fight pro-terrorist websites by closely observing social media sites that promote terrorist ideals. Following the theme of the summit, “countering violent extremism,” this program, dubbed Combating Terrorist Propaganda in Australia, aims to reduce the influence of extremist groups on the Internet. The meeting at the White House included more than 80 countries and international establishments, and focused on eliminating extremism targeted towards the corruption of young minds. This is especially important at a time when groups...

AMBER VERNETTI WRITES- This week Australia celebrated 2015’s Australia Day, a national holiday which commemorates the 1788 arrival of British ships at Port Jackson in New South Wales and the raising of the Flag of Great Britain under Governor Arthur Phillip. In celebration of this day, awards and appointments to the Order of Australia, an order of chivalry established in 1975 to recognize Australian citizens for their achievement and service, were given to deserving members of media and advertising among other industries. Network Ten’s Jessica Rowen, co-host for Studio Ten, was among the appointed members (AM) of the Order...

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A continuously appearing, student-driven publication of Loyola Marymount University's Asia Media International Center, which is a part of LMU's Department of Asian and Asian American Studies (AAAS), the new AMI retains the former ASIA MEDIA’s scholarly aim while incorporating a contemporary outlook and format. The integration of innovative concepts to the new website serves to re-emphasize its mission: the examination of Asian countries by undergraduate students. This is Asia’s century. As the world’s center of political gravity is inevitably shifting to the East, this site seeks to place its spotlight on Asia as a method of focusing on trends within its society and politics. The mission of the new ASIA MEDIA also aims to help deepen LMU’s overall institutional understanding of – and relationship with – Asia.